The smash-hit Superman reboot Man of Steel incited some controversy with its decidedly darker take on the Last Son of Krypton, mostly for a key decision that the superhero makes at the end of the movie. This is the part where we have to write Spoiler Alert: The movie ends with an extended sequence where Superman and Zod invent lots of new ways to punch each other, before Superman is ultimately forced to kill Zod in order to triumph over a ridiculously imbalanced highly unlikely situation contrived by the filmmakers save some people. The decision to have Superman kill someone
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Wednesday is new comic book day, which also means it's new potential-movie-source-material day. Here are all of the comics and collections out today starring the comic book characters from the movies and television shows of today, tomorrow and yesterday.

Of particular note this week: Cloak and Dagger make an entrance in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #24; the trek to "Infinity" begins in Avengers #14; and the Dark Knight teams up with Batgirl in Batman and Batgirl #21.

Sneak Peek all the "Marvel One-Shot" short films produced by Marvel Studios, set within the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe', including "Item 47", as featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Blu-ray releases.

"It's a fun way to experiment with new characters and ideas," said One-Shot co-producer Brad Winderbaum, "but more importantly it's a way for us to expand the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' and tell stories that live outside the plot of our features."

Although often lambasted for being too simple, some blockbuster series require hours of effort to get the correct chronology straight. With reboots the current favoured blockbuster production method in Hollywood, to see a franchise make it to more than three iterations without a complete do over is a rare occurrence. What’s even rarer is to see one make it that far without one director or another messing with the order of the series.

Prequels, late in the day sequels, heavily homaging reimaginings; they all mess with the order of a series, leaving us all perplexed as to where the latest entry is meant to fit. Sometimes you have resort to drawing complex maps on napkins, feeling more obsessive than Bruce Willis in Looper (no mean feat), only to give up and pray for a reboot.

Well fear not. Like on very current entry on this list we’re here to save the day.
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A pilot episode, by definition, is a ‘standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network’. They are often radically different to what we eventually see on screen, as alterations to the likes of storyline, characters and casting are often made to ‘improve’ a series with an interesting premise before it is shown to the public.

This article focuses on changes in casting, looking at four characters from iconic series that were originally portrayed by different actors before these individuals were replaced by the people we have grown to know and love in the roles.

Characters who were recast during the shooting of the pilot episode, such as Sharpe (Sean Bean replaced Paul McGann after he injured himself playing football) or The Incredible Hulk (Lou Ferrigno replaced Richard Kiel when producers decided that the Hulk should be more than just large), or
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Warner Bros. are taking a very different approach to their DC Cinematic Universe when compared to what Marvel Studios have done, but it arguably sounds as if it could work just as well (if not better). Whereas Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and the rest all happened roughly at the same time and led to a team being assembled to tackle an almighty threat in The Avengers, it appears as if Superman's actions in Man of Steel will lead to other superheroes being inspired to step forward as well. "It is our intention that, in success, this would be the zero issue and from this point onward, possible films could expand into a shared universe," Man of Steel and Justice League screenwriter David Goyer told Bleeding Cool. "In our world, the Man of Steel world, Zack has gone on record saying that we’re implying there are other superheroes
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Comic books and television have a very long relationship. Since 1952’s The Adventures of Superman, which featured George Reeves as the Man of Steel, there have been numerous attempts to bring superheroes to the small screen, both in animation and live-action. The results have been a pretty mixed bag. 1966’s Batman unfortunately set public perception of comic book superheroes being juvenile and campy, and that’s a perception that not many live-action shows sought to correct.

Animation has fared slightly better, especially since the 90s, which saw the debut of the groundbreaking Batman: The Animated Series. Not only did it bring us the most-accurate adaptation of The Dark Knight in the history of film and television, but it also showed to the general public that animation and superheroes could be serious and appealing to adults without alienating children.

With the advancement of technology and new avenues for release such as digital streaming,
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It's the last weekend of May and for whatever reason, someone thought it would be funny/ironic/weird/strange to have two movies by directors who repeatedly get a bad wrap from the fanboys open against each other, so that's why in this corner we have M. Night Shyamalan ( Lady in the Water , The Last Airbender , The Happening ) taking on Louis Letterier ( Clash of the Titans , The Incredible Hulk ), although really this is going to be about whether one star (Will Smith) can take on an ensemble cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson and others. I have a feeling we already know the winner in this match-up, but it's a slower weekend regardless compared to Memorial Day, and both movies will have to face much more high profile summer blockbusters.
After Earth (Sony)
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With trailers and promos dropping left, right and centre for Joss Whedon's upcoming live-action TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it's easy to forget that Marvel has a couple of animated shows set to hit the air in the coming months, beginning with another show inspired by last year's blockbuster ensemble, Marvel's Avengers Assemble.

This latest animated incarnation of Earth's Mightiest Heroes will make their debut on Disney Xd with a special one-hour preview on May 26th, and a new promo has just been released featuring new footage from the show, including our first words from The Incredible Hulk...

"Marvel's Avengers Assemble - With an all-star roster consisting of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, Falcon and, occasionally–when she feels like it and only when she feels like it–Black Widow, the Avengers are a team in the truest sense. The Avengers save the world from the biggest
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Wednesday is new comic book day, which also means it's new potential-movie-source-material day. Here are all of the comics and collections out today starring the comic book characters from the movies and television shows of today, tomorrow and yesterday.

Of particular note this week: Catwoman squares off against the Penguin in "Catwoman" #20, the epic Avengers/Captain Marvel crossover starts with "Avengers: The Enemy Within" #1, and Miles Morales makes a big decision in "Ultimate Comics Spider-Man" #23.

He may not play in Major League Baseball anymore, but Manny Ramirez still knows how to make an impression. While traveling with his current team, the Eda Rhinos of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, Ramirez was spotted walking out of a train station in Taiwan dressed as The Incredible Hulk.

According to Fox Sports, Manny wore the costume as part of a team-wide Halloween theme for a recent road trip. Wearing the muscular costume naturally brings up a lot of comparisons, as Ramirez left the Mlb after being handed a 100-game suspension for a second violation of the league's drug policy.

He later negotiated the suspension down to 50 games, and signed to return with the Oakland Athletics. After serving his 50-game suspension, Ramirez played with the Sacramento River Cats, a minor league affiliate, before requesting his release. He then joined the Dominican Professional Baseball League for the 2012-2013 offseason, before
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As I’ve stated in previous Fund This Film posts, one of the main benefits of crowdfunding is that it offers opportunity for projects that Hollywood literally rejects. Filmmakers like Alex Cox, Ralph Bakshi and even Zach Braff have hit Kickstarter because their visions and methods don’t fit the industry standards and preferences these days and no mainstream production and financial outlets are interested in their works as they’re intended. Similarly, with computer effects being the go-to norm in moviemaking now, people wishing to work with practical effects need to go to fans of such tactile techniques in order to pay for it. We’ve already seen a few campaigns highlighting old school movie magic, including Cox’s effort, and now there’s one from animatronic and makeup wizards Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. If you’re not familiar with those guys by name, you know the creatures and other stuff they’ve done
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Following ABC Network finally picking up the Joss Whedon-created television series based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s peacekeeping organization, official Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. badges have surfaced online, identifying each core member of the elite group and their roles. One character’s identification mentions a “Rising Tide,” which appeared on a mysterious video (with The Incredible Hulk’s Abomination) yesterday that ABC has yanked from the net … hinting at the show’s villains?
Clark Gregg reprises his role of Agent Phil Coulson from Marvel’s feature films as he assembles a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they investigate the new, the strange, and the unknown across the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary. Coulson’s team consists of Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), highly trained in combat and espionage, Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) expert pilot and martial artist,
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Despite being third on the list of TV pilots most likely to be picked up behind Beverly Hills Cop and Chuck Lorre's Mom, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is looking very likely to get its full season order. So much so in fact that ABC released this "found footage" to promote the show.

While the video is short, it does seem to feature a rather large hulking man throwing some cars around? Initial speculation was that it was Bruce Banner's Hulk, but some fans seem to think it's actually Abomination, last seen in 2008's The Incredible Hulk.

"Fresh from his role in last summer's box office smash, Marvel's The Avengers, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns to the worldwide law enforcement organization S.H.I.E.L.D. He puts together a small, highly trained, team of Agents to tackle the cases that haven't been classified yet, the new, the strange and the unknown. That
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There’s nothing quite like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What began with Iron Man in 2008 has blossomed into a rich and detailed series of movies that feel natural in their cohabitation. Created in an attempt reproduce the “all-encompassing” aspect of the Marvel Comic Book Universe, the McU similarly allows its characters to make appearances over a multitude of interconnected movies, and feel the repercussions of living in a world that shares plot-lines and merges narratives.

For most of us, this simply translates as, “OhmyGod, now Thor can fight Captain America,” or “OhmyGod, now Tony Stark can team up with the Hulk.” It also makes room for a hell of a lot of Samuel L. Jackson cameos. With the McU in place, though, it’s proven to be something of a joy to watch as filmmakers make hints and plant seeds for upcoming story arcs and character developments. For Marvel nerds,
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The date that we first learned about Edgar Wright's live-action movie about the Marvel Comics superhero Ant-Man was April 28, 2006. The project was actually announced more than two years before Iron Man hit theaters and went in to development at the same time as Thor, The Incredible Hulk and Captain America: The First Avenger. But while all of those films have been made, Ant-Man still waits at Marvel for his day to shine.
And that day is coming. The studio has announced that Wright's film will be the first solo movie to be released after Joss Whedon's The Avengers 2, dated to hit theaters on November 6, 2015. There is a slight hitch, however. The Marvel Cinematic Universe didn't exist when Wright and co-writer Joe Cornish sat down to write the script for the movie. As a result, some polishing needs to be done.
As part of an interview with Entertainment Weekly,
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Saturday Update: Iron Man 3 debuted to a massive $68.31 million on Friday, which ranks eighth all-time for opening day. It was noticeably behind The Avengers ($80.8 million), but was also way up on Iron Man 2 ($51.2 million). If it plays like those movies for the rest of the weekend, it will wind up with a weekend gross between $170 and $175 million, which will rank second all-time (behind The Avengers). Friday A.M. Update: Disney is reporting that Iron Man 3 earned $15.6 million from Thursday evening shows in the U.S. That's a bit lower than the midnight opening for The Avengers last year ($18.7 million). This essentially ensures that Iron Man 3 won't match The Avengers for the weekend, considering it's much easier to fill seats at 9 p.m. than at midnight. Still, the movie remains on pace for at least $150 million by the end of the weekend.The Summer movie season officially
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Remember crossovers? Way back in the day, they were the biggest deal in comics.

They were so rare that, in Marvel’s earliest days, a crossover between Iron Man and The Angel was “by permission of the Uncanny X-Men.” The whole Earth-One / Earth-Two thing at DC was breathtaking, a fan’s wet dream. Heck, we even thrilled when Blackhawk simply mentioned Superman.

Maybe the most significant crossover of that time was when The Fantastic Four encountered The Hulk. It was published the same month that The Incredible Hulk was cancelled… but it was so successful that a year later The Ff brought in The Avengers to help in their rematch with Bruce Banner’s alter-ego – in a two-parter, no less!

(Yes, back when crossovers were relatively few and far between, two-part stories came about as often locusts.)

Today, crossovers are no longer a big deal. Actually, they’re no deal
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The official short film will be screened at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con.

'Marvel One-Shots' are produced by Marvel Studios, set within the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe', included as special features in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Blu-ray releases.

"It's a fun way to experiment with new characters and ideas," said One-Shot co-producer Brad Winderbaum, "but more importantly it's a way for us to expand the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' and tell stories that live outside the plot of our features."

"There’s always a potential to introduce a character, " said Marvel's D'Esposito. "We have 8,000 of them,
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